Attitude control systems for body stabilized vehicles such as spacecraft and satellites are well known. Typically, such systems are comprised of: (a) low speed reaction wheels, one for each axis; (b) two control moment gyros, each of which is capable of controlling two axes; or (c) momentum wheels capable of passive gyroscopic torques in two axes and active control in a third axis.
The prior art is known to be deficient in that none of the noted devices provide active control in all three of the axes and must be used in combination with one another. In the case of bias momentum wheels, only a limited performance is achievable. Power supplied to the attitude control system, moreover, is typically all dissipated or inefficiently recovered. Also, in the prior art systems, the lack of coincidence of control axes additionally poses an increase in control complexity and can introduce additional undesired local disturbances.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improvement in attitude control systems.
It is another object of the invention to provide an attitude control system which produces three symmetrical bidirectional controllable torques.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an attitude control system which produces three symmetrical bidirectional control torques and symmetrical angular momentum storage capabilities.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an attitude control system providing three symmetrical bidirectional controllable torques and angular momentum storage in a single device.